Unimpressed with Lazar

[antigoon]

Summary
I saw some Lazar diamonds today and was unimpressed. They weren't "dead", but they weren't that sparkly either. And one in particular looked really boring and under the firescope it had the dreaded "white ring of death" (or whatever it's called). I thought this was supposed to be a reliable branded diamond. What gives? I thought Lazar was top notch, like ACA. Is it not?

Details
After poring over the GOG and Pricescope sites and forums, I thought it was time to see some real diamonds. I was already convinced that GOG, Whiteflash, or another internet vendor was the way to go, but I wanted to check out some local B&M.
So first I went to Birks (the Canadian Tiffany's; they even have their own little blue box). Wow. I saw what all the fuss is about. Sparkles and fire like I've never seen. And, alas, an inflated price to match.
Then a couple of days later, I went the biggest Canadian mall chain of jewellers (Jubilee). When I tell him I'm only interested in ideal cut, he takes me over to the special Lazar spot (Note: I've seen lots of references in PS to "Lazar Kaplan". This was just "Lazar". Is it the same thing?) And the diamonds were unimpressive, as discussed above.

A comment on the sales guys
The Birks guy probably knew more than me about some diamond stuff. But when it came to cut, and any developments from the past 20 years (firescope, brightscope, HCA, Russian gemologist mathematicians, or the HCA), I had him beat hands down.
The Jubilee guy was a typical mall sales guy, saying all the things I expected. (e.g. No no, if you want an ideal cut, you're crazy to want anything less than F colour. The Lazar is the most beautifully cut diamond in the world. etc.) Never mind the advanced stuff, I think I knew more about the basics than this guy. Well, I guess he was also putting the sales pitch on me too, taking me for a patsy.

Anyway, if you've gotten this far, my post isn't about mall salesguys, or shopping techniques. It's a question: I thought Lazar was top notch, like ACA. Is it not?

 

[Mara]

Honestly I don't think there is much out there that can match something like the ACA in terms of top-notch cut. EightStar, ACA are two of the top notch brands in terms of idealscope images.

IdealScope the Lazar and maybe you will see why you aren't impressed? There are also some unbranded H&A's that are eye-poppers as well...so it's not JUST about the brand but rather the cut of each individual stone. Top notch brands take care of their brand by only producing winning stones.




But to answer your question, no I would definitely not lump Lazar in with an ACA or an EightStar or a SuperbCert or any of those similar type excellent performing stones.

 

[fire&ice]

----------------
On 4/23/2004 2:41:16 AM Mara wrote:


face="Comic Sans MS">But to answer your question, no I would definitely not lump Lazar in with an ACA or an EightStar or a SuperbCert or any of those similar type excellent performing stones.
----------------

I would. Plus, there is something to be said about a "ground breaker". Though, I haven't seen the Lazare stones in a few years.

 

[niceice]

We've said it time and time before and we'll say it again... Regardless of the brand name, each diamond has to be evaluated on it's own merit. So many brands start out with really tight parameters and as the popularity of the brand grows in terms of market recognition, the precision and quality of the product is sacrificed in the name of volume. We've seen some absolutely phenominal LK stones over the years... The good folks at WF/ACA produce some fabulous stones, certainly worth a look and serious consideration that's for sure... However, many other dealers here on PS also inventory top quality / top performing ideal cut diamonds cut to exacting precision and are also worth a look. The fact is that most of us offer diamonds of similar quality, the decision to purchase from one vendor over another often comes down to which of us has the diamond that you happen to be looking for on any given day... One thing to look out for with "some" of the brands - and we want to make it CLEAR that we are not making this reference with regards to ACA, definitly not - is that as production needs and costs increased, they began to add weight into the girdle section because higher weight = more

so keep that in mind when looking at those branded stones, just a little behind the scenes observation.

 

[antigoon]

Thanks for the comments.

Don't be mistaken: I absolutely realise that unbranded stones can be just as good (or better) than the branded ones. I've learned lots and lots about brilliantscope images, the HCA, etc. Right now, I'm just as likely to buy an unbranded as a branded.

I was curious about Lazar simply because I thought that if I was going into a mall store, I was likely going to see crap so if I wanted to see something that wasn't crap I had better look at the Lazars. The result was not what I expected, which confused me.

 

[niceice]

Another thing that can be a factor is the influence of diamond lights, they can make "anything" look pretty good!

And if by chance you happen to be comparing a non-ideal cut diamond that happens to be cut fairly well to an ideal cut diamond that is on the borderline of being cut well, they can look fairly close in terms of the visual properties. But if you compare a diamond cut to average proportions (not balanced) to an exceptionally well cut ideal cut diamond it would be quite difficult not to see a difference. Hope we're making sense, it makes sense in our minds, but it reads a bit choppy

 

[fire&ice]

----------------
On 4/23/2004 11:39:18 AM antigoon wrote:

Thanks for the comments.

I wanted to see something that wasn't crap I had better look at the Lazars. The result was not what I expected, which confused me.
----------------

Are you sure you saw the Lazare Kaplan diamonds? I believe it does have an e on the end.